


you are the only exception

by 7heavens



Category: X1 (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Unresolved Tension, wooseok is a love and relationship counsellor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2020-10-19 22:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20664740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7heavens/pseuds/7heavens
Summary: wooseok runs a definitely legal and not-so-professional love advice business for college students, while kim yohan is the problematic customer who poses a threat to its 99% success rate - and to wooseok's heart.





	1. zero to hero

“Yo, you should _ totally _do this as an actual job.”

Wooseok isn't listening. To be honest, he tuned out of the conversation as soon as Jinhyuk opened his mouth. He just hums once every few seconds to play the part of the listening ear that he didn’t even sign up for. Instead, his main focus is on the cheatsheet he had pried out of Seungyoun’s hands earlier.

“You could seriously make some good money! Just imagine this: you actually buying me lunch just once to pay me back for all the food I bought for you.”

Jinhyuk ducks professionally when he sees Wooseok’s hand flying to his shoulder for the slap he deserves. He doesn’t appreciate sarcasm, especially when it’s coming from Jinhyuk’s mouth.

“You know I offered to pay you back, like, fifty times, right?” Wooseok wrinkles his nose in annoyance, concentrating even harder on the numbers in front of him as if they will miraculously diffuse into his brain. 

“And I’ll reject you every single time,” Jinhyuk grins. He’s a good guy, as long as he learns to read the room a little and realise that maybe Wooseok isn’t in the mood to entertain him right now. “I’ll only accept payments in food. But that’s besides the point. I really owe you one this time - and I think I can pay you back with this amazing business plan of mine.”

“What business plan?”

The unexpected intruder in the conversation startles Wooseok, so much so that he lifts his head from the notes for the first time since they settled in their usual corner in the cafeteria.

And he finds that Seungyoun isn’t alone. He never is, with his natural “I attract people” charm that seems to be perpetually turned on. 

Standing beside where Wooseok is sitting is Kim Yohan.

He’s met Yohan a few times, just because the first year is friends with every one of Wooseok’s close friend circle. Yohan is nice, but that’s all Wooseok really knows about the other, since they don’t really spend much time together.

“Can I sit here?” Yohan eyes the empty spot next to Wooseok while Seungyoun noisily settles in beside Jinhyuk as the two hit it off immediately.

Wooseok blinks a few times before realising his backpack is occupying the empty space and quickly removes it and forces a smile, “Yeah, sure.”

Before Yohan can get in another word, Seungyoun saves Wooseok by diverting their attention back to his original question, “So I heard something about a business plan. As long as it doesn’t involve anything illegal, I’m in.”

Wooseok just glares at him and then at Jinhyuk for even bringing this up in the first place.

But Jinhyuk, of course, after putting up with Wooseok for years now, is unfazed.

“You know how Wooseok has a natural talent for giving relationship advice?” Jinhyuk starts off.

“Of course,” Seungyoun chimes in almost immediately with a wide grin on his face while still chewing on his food. “It’s because of _ you _that I ended up getting a date with that pretty cheerleader last year, you know? I followed exactly what you told me to do.”

Yes, and Wooseok regrets that everyday because Seungyoun won’t shut up about it.

“You aren’t the only satisfied customer,” Jinhyuk points out and places his hand very solemnly on his chest. “I too, have been on the receiving end of Wooseok’s love advice and can attest that it has worked out in my favour _ everytime _.”

Wooseok rolls his eyes at the overdramatics of the entire situation. He sneaks a glance at Yohan, who looks very amused at Jinhyuk and Seungyoun’s antics while still somehow managing to stuff food into his mouth.

“Wait - you aren’t proposing for Wooseok to become an actual love counsellor?” Seungyoun brings his hands to his mouth in shock while Jinhyuk smiles like the cat who just caught a mouse.

He can feel a headache coming even before taking his actual exam that is supposed to start soon. None of the numbers are going into his brain and he will fail this test, he just knows it.

“Please tell Jinhyuk his idea is stupid and will never work,” Wooseok pleads.

“I think it’s absolutely genius,” Seungyoun points out. “What about you, Yohan-ah? What do you think? Would it be a hit with you freshmen?”

Yohan looks like he never expected for the group’s attention to be directed towards him and neither does Wooseok. The boy pokes at his food as he struggles for an answer. Wooseok can tell Yohan knows he looks uncomfortable.

“I’m not sure? Love advice? I guess I know a few people that would be interested to try it out,” Yohan finally settles for an on-the-fence answer and Wooseok sighs defeatedly against his chair.

It’s insane for anyone to want to pay for love and relationship advice, what more from a mere college student like himself. To be honest, Wooseok doesn’t even know why he’s worried. It’s never going to work out.

“I could totally sell the idea for you as long as I get a piece of your paycheck,” Seungyoun offers. And Wooseok thinks that his proposition doesn’t sound half bad. As much as he would die before admitting this, Seungyoun does have a way of sounding very convincing.

Like those people on the streets who swear they aren’t going to sell you anything but will still ask you for your credit card number. Scammers.

Thing is, sales aren’t the problem, Wooseok is.

It is true that many of his close friends come to him for advice on what to do with a crush, and it coincidentally works out for them every time. He’s even managed to mediate fights between a few couples as well.

“But I can’t guarantee that it’ll work,” Wooseok whines, exam notes long forgotten. A wise man once said to empty out your mind before an important exam. He doesn’t think any wise men or women have ever said to discuss dumb business plans with your friends before your exam.

“So what?” Jinhyuk shrugs. “We’ll say it works 99 percent of the time. Like those hand soaps that kill off 99 percent of bacteria. People still pay for those, right? It’ll be the same with you.”

“I don’t understand how your brain works,” Wooseok admits, gathering his books and making up his mind to get to the exam hall early so he won’t have to rush later on. 

Jinhyuk catches his sleeve before he can run off.

“You need money for your tuition fees, right? This could work, I swear. You don’t have to do anything. Seungyoun and I will do the sales and PR and everything - just please, think this through.”

Wooseok takes a deep breath as he surveys the table. Jinhyuk looks expectant, while Seungyoun looks way too happy for someone who probably just flunked his exam. On the other hand, Yohan still won’t look Wooseok in the eye.

He does need money to get through this damn school year and his part-time isn’t going to cut it.

“If you can find me a willing customer, I’ll see what I can do,” Wooseok says as a closing statement before haphazardly carrying his books in his arms and running away to avoid anymore crazy ideas.

He’s huffing and puffing after carrying three flights of stairs before realising he must have left Seungyoun’s cheat sheet at the cafeteria in his hurry to get away.

“Damn it,” he curses under his breath while contemplating if he should go back for it.

Before he can make a decision, footsteps echo along the empty staircase and Wooseok comes face to face (well, face to mouth because he’s unfortunately shorter than this way too tall first year) with Kim Yohan who has his cheatsheet in his hands.

“You left this at the table, hyung. It looked important, so I-” Yohan can’t even complete his sentence as he tries to catch his breath.

“Ya, aren’t you an athlete or something?” Wooseok tries to joke to ease the awkwardness while trying to figure out _ why the hell Kim Yohan would be the one to abandon his lunch to sprint and bring him his cheatsheet. _

Yohan smiles sheepishly while scratching his nape in obvious embarrassment, “Taekwondo. But these stairs are still quite unforgiving.”

“Well, thank you, Yohan-ah,” Wooseok adds, taking the cheatsheet from the other’s hands.

In one way or another, the boy has saved his life. 

He turns to leave but gets called back by Yohan again, who grabs his wrist and places something into his open palm and covers it with his own so Wooseok can’t see what it is.

“Um… Yohan-ah?” Wooseok says his name with a question mark because Yohan has never been this forthcoming between them. In fact, they’ve never been together alone without any of Wooseok’s friends. This is new and very unfamiliar.

Yohan doesn’t seem to notice Wooseok’s nervousness.

“I wear this during important competitions, and I thought that this exam looked important to you as well so…” Yohan trails off, losing confidence as Wooseok freezes in his spot.

When Yohan removes his hand, Wooseok finds a bracelet made out of black and white threads sitting in the middle of his palm. It even has a metal charm in the middle.

“Good luck for your exam, hyung,” Yohan says before making his way down the stairs again, with his footsteps echoing in Wooseok’s ears even long after he is gone.

It is until later, outside the exam hall, when Wooseok gets a good look at the bracelet. Even though it seems a little bit worn out, he can tell that Yohan has taken very good care of it, and it makes him want to treat it with care. The metal charm even has “KYH” engraved onto it. 

Wooseok debates leaving the bracelet in his bag but suddenly remembers the puppy dog eyes Yohan had given him together with the bracelet and curses internally. 

Without any further consideration, he slips the bracelet onto his wrist and tries to ignore how his heart has once again started to dance to a familiar beat.

  
  
  


♡

To be fair, Wooseok had underestimated how much Jinhyuk and Seungyoun loved the idea of him giving out love advice with a price tag. So when they forcefully struggle a fully grown man into the seat opposite Wooseok, he can only sigh in defeat.

“Really, Yuvin? What did they bribe you with this time?”

As his two friends feign ignorance, Yuvin smiles sheepishly.

“Nothing, I just wanted to try it out,” the second year swears, then leans forward in anticipation and whispers under his breath, “I heard you can get anyone to fall in love with me.”

“That is _ not _what I promised,” Wooseok glares at their sales representative Cho Seungyoun who avoids it by looking into the distance. He might have exaggerated Wooseok’s skills by a whole mile. “I am not cupid and I don’t think you’d want to pay for a piece of advice anyone could give you for free, do you?”

Yuvin pulls out his wallet, “I brought money, hyung. What are your rates like? Do you go by the hour or by sessions?”

_ You cannot be serious _ , Wooseok almost blurts out loud. No way in hell would _ anyone _pay for actual love advice, right?

“We’ll talk about the rates later,” Jinhyuk massages Yuvin’s shoulder to get him comfortable while eyeing his juniors’ thick wallet. “Now, why don’t you tell Wooseok what you need help with and the two of us will be waiting outside.”

Now at a loss of what to do when his two friends give them some privacy, Wooseok realises he has two choices. One: call bullshit on this entire idea. Two: actually earn some money he needs by pretending to be the love counsellor he is not.

Opening his notebook to a fresh page and grabbing his pen, Wooseok sighs.

“Let’s begin, then.”

  
  
  


♡

“How was it, how was it, how was it,” Seungyoun bounds after a red-faced Wooseok who tries his best to brisk walk away from the cafe he was with Yuvin at for almost an hour. He attempts to shrug the excitable man off to no avail.

“It was fine, I guess?” Wooseok struggles to find the right words. “I don’t even know if I did the right thing. I just went with my gut feel - _ god _, I hope I didn’t mess up Yuvin’s love life.” He would feel totally horrible if he did, because Yuvin’s an angel. A dumb angel - to have been bribed into trying this out.

Seungyoun seems unnaturally silent until he chirps, “Well, I don’t think Yuvin thinks the same way. He just paid me 30,000 won for that single session.”

Wooseok almost chokes on thin air. He grabs Seungyoun’s phone to verify his words for himself, only to find out that his friend is telling the truth and Yuvin has indeed paid Wooseok more than three times than he does at the convenience store down the road.

“It works, Wooseok-ah!” Seungyoun celebrates, hugging Wooseok close to him. “Our business works! We’re going to be rich!”

One customer doesn’t mean anything. Plus, Yuvin’s loaded and he’s just being nice, right?

“It’s just a one time thing,” Wooseok shrugs. “Don’t expect to get lucky next time. What if Yuvin wants a refund after I destroy his entire life - what are you going to do then?”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Seungyoun chides and Wooseok almost rolls his eyes at the irony of his statement. “Oh look, it seems like word is spreading. We’re going to draw up a waiting list soon. What’s your schedule like tomorrow?”

Honest to god, Wooseok would not do this if he didn’t need the money. But his crippling student debt cannot be ignored any longer so he just pulls Seungyoun close and says, “I don’t want anyone to know I’m the one giving advice until they come and see me. If word gets out…”

_ It’ll be so embarrassing _ , Wooseok adds internally but he thinks Seungyoun understands. His friend squeezes his shoulder encouragingly, “Relax, Jinhyuk and I will protect you. We’re selling your advice - _ not you _. We’ll vet every single customer and make sure no one shady gets to meet with you.”

Well, that is one less thing to worry about.

“Thank you,” Wooseok smiles gratefully and starts to finally warm up to this crazy idea of a job. “So everything that happens with this from now will stay between the three of us?”

Seungyoun flashes Wooseok a thumbs up and one of his brightest smiles.

“And Yohan, of course.”

Wooseok turns his head so fast to face Seungyoun it almost snaps.

_ “Yohan?” _

Seungyoun nods cautiously, “Yeah? He was there when we were talking about it, remember?”

_ Oh God. Yeah. Fuck. _

“Something wrong?” Seungyoun touches Wooseok’s shoulder. 

“No,” Wooseok forces an answer out of his suddenly numb body. “Of course not, Yohan is cool. He’s your friend, so it’s your responsibility to make sure that he doesn’t tell other people about this, okay?”

He suddenly recalls the bracelet that has yet to be returned to his owner and feels his throat go dry. Just the thought of that day alone makes his palms sweaty for no apparent reason at all.

Wooseok could just Seungyoun to pass the bracelet back to Yohan, but then he would have to explain how it ended up in his hands in the first place and Seungyoun is scarily perceptive - he’s going to see through Wooseok like a piece of clear glass.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where Yohan is right now, do you? I think it’s better if I talk to him myself,” Wooseok decides to take matters into his own hands for now.

It seems Seungyoun isn’t even paying attention to him anymore as he has his focus on his phone.

“Hm? Yohan? He should be at the training centre - that’s where he is like, 90 percent of the time. If not, he’ll be at the dorms.”

The training centre isn’t too far from here, Wooseok can make it before the sun sets.

“I’ll see you later,” Wooseok quickly bids his friend goodbye and sets off to find the boy that has left a piece of himself with him.

  
  
  


♡

The sounds of punching bags being hit can be heard even before Wooseok steps into the training hall. He’s never been here (because there’s no reason to be) but it is huge and he belatedly realises their colleges has one of the best taekwondo athlete training programmes in the country.

He can just tell by the numerous awards hung proudly at the side of the hall.

Bringing his attention back to his original plan to find Kim Yohan, Wooseok decides it’s just better to ask someone rather than try and find the boy himself in the swarm of athletes.

A girl points him into the vague direction of where two players are sparring. They’re both wearing the exact same thing - except they have on two different coloured sparring gear. Before Wooseok can contemplate whether to call out for Yohan, the red player lands a spin kick on his opponent.

A whistle blows and both players bow to each other - probably to signify the end of the game. 

The player in red finally takes his headgear off and Wooseok feels a breath catch in his throat before their eyes meet.

“Wooseok hyung?”

Wooseok should have rehearsed his lines beforehand because he can’t seem to think of an appropriate opening comment to make to someone he isn’t even close to. He’s starting to think that this entire thing was a mistake when Yohan starts to advance towards him.

He blinks and forces himself to focus, “Oh. Yohan-ah.”

“Hyung,” Yohan acknowledges his presence again while looking very dazed and confused at Wooseok’s appearance. “What are you doing here? Are you looking for someone?”

“Yeah,” Wooseok finally regains his composure. “I was looking for _ you _, actually.”

Yohan’s eyes flash with uncertainty and Wooseok doesn’t blame him.

“Do you have something to tell me?” Yohan probes.

Wooseok quickly reaches into his backpack to fish out the bracelet Yohan had left in his care a few days ago. He’s kept it in prime condition because it’s obviously something the other boy treasures a lot. 

(Which is why it makes zero sense that he would lend it to Wooseok without question.)

“Actually, I just wanted to return your bracelet to you,” Wooseok replies.

Yohan frowns, as if struggling to remember, but nods when he sees the familiar accessory sitting in Wooseok’s hand.

“You can keep it if you want, you know,” Yohan says.

“It’s yours,” Wooseok insists. “You said it was your lucky charm for competitions, so I think it’s best if you keep it.”

Yohan’s face droops, and he says in a voice almost as soft as a whisper.

_ “Right. Of course you don’t remember.” _

“What?”

Yohan just takes the bracelet back from Wooseok and almost immediately puts it around his wrist, ignoring Wooseok’s question. He finds himself smiling unconsciously and saying, “See, it looks better with its owner.”

Even though Yohan returns Wooseok’s smile, he can tell it looks forced. 

“Hyung, how about I walk you back? Or do you want to grab dinner together?” Yohan quickly snaps into chirpy puppy mode again, and the transformation itself is so quick it makes Wooseok second guess himself if Yohan really looked disappointed earlier.

Dinner with the two of them. _ Alone _.

Wooseok’s aware that he has a few close friends, and Kim Yohan is not one of them.

“It’s alright, Yohan-ah,” Wooseok manages a friendly excuse. “You seem busy, I’ll just see you around.”

Wooseok looks around, where some of Yohan’s fellow teammates are waiting for them to finish talking. He must be popular.

He’s handsome, tall, nice and athletic. At least that’s as much of Yohan that Wooseok knows anyway.

“I’m not busy though?” Yohan says with his big and innocent eyes while he not so obviously gestures for his friends to leave them alone behind Wooseok’s back. “Just give me fifteen minutes to wash up and we can go for dinner. Where do you want to go? There’s a new cafe that just opened down the road.”

Little by little, from the bracelet incident to this, Yohan is getting way too close to what Wooseok calls his personal space and frankly, it scares him. 

Yohan, who’s all sweaty from training yet looks charming as hell, should not be asking Wooseok out for dinner. What would they even talk about? As far as Wooseok is concerned, they have nothing in common, except for their friends.

“Hey, Yohan,” Wooseok feels guilty to cut Yohan off but swears he’ll make it up somehow, sometime later. “I’m really sorry, but I have to get to my part-time job now. Actually, I’m already 10 minutes late, so I have to run.”

“Oh,” Yohan’s tone drops almost immediately. “Yeah, sure. Sorry for making you come all the way here. I would walk you, but-” 

He smiles pointedly at his training suit that is drenched in sweat.

Instead of turning around and asking Yohan _ why the hell would you walk me _, Wooseok smiles and waves goodbye, “Don’t worry about it. See you around, Yohan.”

He doesn’t know if he really means that.

  
  
  


♡

When Jinhyuk texts Wooseok that night while he is working at the store, his heart almost drops at a certain name that appears in the text message. Looking around to make sure that there aren’t any customers in the store - there aren’t, it’s quite late at night and no one really comes to this outlet because it’s out of the way - Wooseok types a quick reply to Jinhyuk’s cryptic message.

_ What do you mean “what did you do to Yohan?” _ he types, to which Jinhyuk quickly replies with _ I swear, the boy is terrified of you. He just asked me if you hated him or you just have a huge dislike for the human race in general. LOL. _

Wooseok doesn’t know why that bothers him when opinions from others have never gotten to him before. Maybe it’s because of the way Yohan has a need to be liked - when he already is.

The boy is as popular as a handsome student athlete can get. Wooseok isn’t one to meddle with the latest gossip on who’s hot and who’s not, but he’s heard Yohan’s name thrown around in the hallway on more than a few occasions.

_ Why would he say that _, Wooseok questions Jinhyuk.

_ Idk, but I told him that you don’t hate him. Unless…? _

Wooseok can see Jinhyuk arching his eyebrows suspiciously at him through the phone. 

_ I don’t hate him. He’s Seungyoun’s and your friend. _

_ I know, I know. Yohan just seems to be treading on thin ice whenever he’s around you, haven’t you noticed? _

The easy answer to Jinhyuk’s question is no, Wooseok hasn’t noticed anything about Yohan. (Well, not much that should be note-worthy, anyway.) 

Only one particular incident strikes Wooseok as a time where he might have not been as nice as he usually is to Wooseok. He remembers having a particularly bad hangover at the start of the school year after a freshman welcoming party or something of similar nature. 

Ugh, the headache he had the morning after was a bitch.

So when he heard noises coming from outside of his shared room with Jinhyuk, he was naturally annoyed. They have a rule - no bringing of friends or girlfriends or boyfriends over - and while Wooseok lets it slide only with Seungyoun, the appearance of a fresh face in his private room first thing in the morning wasn’t the best first impression Yohan could make on Wooseok.

He doesn’t exactly remember what happened after, but he must have snapped at someone and that might have scared Yohan off.

But he’s been amicable with the other boy since then, because it’s inevitable that they’ll see each other for as long as Wooseok is friends with Jinhyuk and Seungyoun, anyway.

Yohan couldn’t have taken that one incident to heart, could he?

Before Wooseok can slip into the impending dark thoughts, his phone sounds again to remind him that Jinhyuk is still on the line and waiting for an answer. 

_ Yohan’s kinda sensitive, like a little puppy that needs to be pet. You’ll get used to him. But if you ever feel uncomfortable with him around, just let me or Seungyoun know, okay? _

Wooseok smiles, teasing Jinhyuk with his reply that says _ Wow, you’re being so nice. Should I bring some chicken with me on the way back? _

Then Jinhyuk sends him an emoticon of a cartoon character shaking its butt and he gets the message.

He cleans up and tries to arrange as many items as he can in a neat row before quickly handing the shift off to the midnight part-timer.

  
  
  


♡

“So I heard Yohan is scared of Wooseok.”

“I hate you,” Wooseok stares the unwelcome visitor down. “Who invited you, anyway?”

Seungyoun sticks his tongue out childishly at Wooseok and pats the empty space on the floor beside him while keeping his eyes on the two bags of chicken he is carrying in his hands.

“A little bird told me that you were buying supper so I bailed on a potentially great night of sex to come here,” Seungyoun claims, putting his hand on his chest to emphasise his seriousness on the issue. Jinhyuk just holds his arms up in surrender as if to say _ you can’t expect me not to tell Seungyoun, can you? _

“As if anyone would want to sleep with you,” Wooseok snaps, words laced with no malice at all.

Seungyoun seems just as unbothered as he smiles politely, “Can’t say the same for you, _ kitten _.”

“Okay,” Jinhyuk jumps in before a blood bath can break out between the two. “Chicken first, fist fights later. Let’s get our priorities straight, alright, ladies?”

Wooseok just huffs very unsatisfactory and as a little revenge, he takes one of the two drumsticks and gives the remaining one to Jinhyuk, but Seungyoun doesn’t even bat an eyelid. 

“So about Yohan-”

“Stop saying _ his _name, god!” Wooseok hisses before he even registers what he said.

Both of his friends just stare at him, wide eyed and very obviously shocked at his sudden outburst.

There’s no excuse Wooseok can think of on the spot to reason his way through this sticky situation, except that he hasn’t been the same ever since Yohan gifted Wooseok his bracelet before the exam.

“Just- forget it,” Wooseok sighs. “Eat your food, _ both of you _.”

If any of them notice Wooseok’s bad mood later on that night, none of them say a word about it. They’re both great at pretending that nothing is wrong and Wooseok appreciates that. 

One little outburst about _ redacted _isn’t going to change his life. He just has to stay out of Yohan’s way from now on and all will be good, right?

  
  
  


♡

“Business is so good,” Jinhyuk tells Wooseok one day while his mouth is still full with the bibimbap that he bought for lunch. 

And to be honest, it is. As much as Wooseok would love to trample over the once far-fetched idea of him becoming a so-called love and relationship consultant, he has to admit that he is doing better than he expected and actually earning money from this.

_ Is this legal? _He had questioned Seungyoun the other day because between the three of them, Seungyoun is the only one who took that optional law module last year. (Apparently, he said it was because he wanted to know his rights if he ever got arrested and none of them ever questioned why.)

“You are like… the Jesus and Buddha of love advice,” Seungyoun adds with a smile on his face. 

“It’s embarrassing,” Wooseok admits in a low voice. “Do you think people will actually take a single person like me seriously when it comes to advice for successful relationships?”

“The money says otherwise,” Jinhyuk assures Wooseok again. “It’s going to be fine. Speaking of: how do you feel about meeting with an anonymous customer?”

Wooseok almost chokes on his food, “A _ what _now?”

“Well… this guy emailed me last week for a consultation with you but refuses to reveal his identity before meeting with you,” Jinhyuk explains with a frown on his face. “He seems desperate, but you don’t have to meet with anyone you’re uncomfortable with.”

Seungyoun cracks his knuckles, “That’s what I’m here for.”

“No,” Jinhyuk debunks his false statement immediately. “You’re just here to bring us food.”

Wooseok laughs, but the anonymous customer is eating at the back of his mind and he cannot deny that he is curious to see who it might be. 

“Set us up on an appointment, you have my schedule, right?” Wooseok decides. Whoever it may be, he should have enough confidence to sit through one session. And if he doesn’t like it, he can always ask Jinhyuk to cancel.

“Even though it is easier knowing who I’m meeting up with beforehand so I can do some background research on them… I guess I do like seeing people happy after taking my advice,” he adds as an explanation. “I’ll be fine.”

“And fine you will be,” Jinhyuk repeats while his fingers fly over the keyboard as he efficiently sets up an appointment with this anonymous customer. “Is tomorrow at the cafe at 5pm okay with you?”

Nodding in agreement, Wooseok catches sight of Yohan approaching their table by chance and scrambles to his feet. _ What is he doing here _, Wooseok thinks. He’s successfully avoided the other all week by pretending to have a very important paper to write when Yohan tags along with them for lunch.

And for someone who hates confrontation as much as Wooseok, it’s much, much, easier to run away from your problems instead of facing them head on.

Seungyoun tugs on the sleeve of Woosoek’s shirt, preventing him from running away this time, “Hey. Do you want me to wait at the cafe with you tomorrow? I have a free period.”

Yohan’s getting closer. Wooseok gulps when they make eye contact from three tables away.

“It’s fine,” he assures a worried Seungyoun. “I can manage.”

“Hey hyung-” Yohan opens his mouth to greet and that’s exactly when Wooseok manages to escape from Seungyoun’s grip and mutter something that sounds like “I have to meet with someone else” under his breath and then quickly makes a break for it.

He doesn’t try to look back and see if Yohan is watching him, too.

  
  
  


♡

Jinhyuk texts him about a million times just to make sure that Wooseok is a hundred percent sure that he wants to meet up with someone he doesn’t even know the face of, and even Seungyoun calls to make sure he’s still number one on Wooseok’s emergency dial.

They’re cute, but honestly, Wooseok is starting to get intrigued with this anonymous customer.

In his email to Jinhyuk - who dubs himself the “manager” of their definitely legal business - the anonymous person described themselves as someone in a “one-sided love”.

_ “I don’t think he knows I’m looking at him, watching out for him, whenever I can,” _ the sender had said. 

Wooseok doesn’t know who it is just yet, but his heart already aches for them, and he’s already willing to go all out just to make sure the sender doesn’t face the same fate as he did.

“Hyung?”

A deep voice penetrates through Wooseok’s thoughts and he lifts his head to squint at the figure walking towards the table he had occupied in the corner of the cafe. 

Wooseok almost slams his head onto the table by instinct when he realises that the boy in a white shirt and red and black bomber jacket is Yohan, and that this time, he doesn’t have an excuse or a way to make his escape.

Smiling, he hides his notepad under his hands and tries to greet the other without panicking.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

Without even asking, Yohan sits opposite Wooseok, where his customer should be sitting once they arrive and grins at Wooseok.

“What about you?” Yohan carries the conversation naturally, as if Wooseok didn’t totally bail on him yesterday in front of his friends. “I’d like to know what you’re doing here, _ alone _, without Jinhyuk or Seungyoun hyung.”

“A rare Kim Wooseok was spotted,” Yohan adds, giggling at his own joke that references an age old cartoon that Wooseok himself shouldn’t even find amusing.

He pretends to glare at Yohan, “That’s not true. I have other friends.”

“I agree,” Yohan nods. “Everyone knows you; but very few people are _ with you _.”

If Wooseok had to ever make a list of things he hated, Yohan’s knowing smile would probably be high up there. Even with his messy bangs covering part of his eyes, Wooseok can sense the tinge of playfulness that exudes from the younger’s gaze.

It’s almost like Yohan knows something Wooseok doesn’t.

“I just wish I knew where I stood,” Yohan adds, soft enough so that no one hears, but loud enough for Wooseok to catch.

Pursing his lips, Wooseok’s hands curl into fists as he resists the urge to be tugged along to play Yohan’s confusing game. 

“Yohan,” he says very slowly so that the other catches everything the first time he says it. “I’m busy right now. And I’m waiting for someone who’s supposed to be sitting in your seat, so…”

Yohan chews on his bottom lip, and Wooseok can see him hesitating to say his next words.

“So stop waiting, because I’m already here.”

  
  
  


♡

_ T__his cannot be happening, _ Wooseok tells himself. Yohan’s eyes don’t leave Wooseok’s face, and he can feel it even when he’s scrambling to check the email with his sweaty hands while telling himself there’s no way in hell Yohan could ever be the anonymous customer who wants Wooseok to give him love advice.

“It’s me,” Yohan repeats. “I didn’t want to go to Jinhyuk hyung like your other customers do.”

“Right,” Wooseok gulps. “I’m sorry for asking you this- but what the hell are you doing here?”

The other has the nerve to smile at Wooseok and lean forward, “I’m here for relationship advice on my one-sided crush. I heard you were good at that.”

“Do you know you have to pay me too? I charge by the hour,” Wooseok says, hoping it will stop Yohan from playing whatever game he is here. 

“I’ll pay,” Yohan assures Wooseok. “Can we start now? I feel like we’re wasting time.”

Wooseok can do this. He’ll treat Yohan like every other customer and it’s going to be fine. Of course, Yohan is a normal human being who can have crushes on other people. Hesitantly, Wooseok pulls out his notepad and sighs.

“Tell me about your crush. Name, likes, dislikes, anything really-”

“Ah,” Yohan smiles giddily, his two front teeth showing like a child. “That’s the thing I forgot to mention in the email. I can’t tell you _ his _name.”

Before Wooseok can question him, Yohan cuts in and says, “In fact. I can’t tell you very much about him. We’re not close. I don’t even think we’re friends.”

That doesn’t give Wooseok much material to work with. Usually, people could drone on and on about their crushes which would give Wooseok an idea of how to go about attracting them. Yohan, on the other hand, is already proving to be quite the handful.

“Are you expecting me to make you a hero from zero?” Wooseok snaps. “You have to give me something, at least.”

While others would flinch when Wooseok snaps, Yohan seems unfazed.

“I think he has a bad temper, very much like you, hyung.”

Wooseok doesn’t know if Yohan is for real right now or just teasing him but he still writes it down under the characteristics column. 

“What makes you think your crush is one-sided?”

Many times, people who are in love are too blinded to see when the other actually reciprocates their feelings. Love is like chancing upon a mirage in a dessert - when people encounter it, they question if it is their delusion.

Yohan shifts in his seat, marking this the first time Wooseok thinks that the other may actually be taking this session seriously and not as a running joke with his friends.

“It’s a feeling,” Yohan finally shrugs off a vague answer, and in a softer, less confident tone, he adds, “I don’t think he even likes me that much in the first place.”

“_ Yikes _,” Wooseok can’t conceal his reactions. He’d feel bad, but it’s Yohan, who already knows that he shows what he’s feeling without hiding. “What the hell did you do for him to not like you?”

Yohan kicks his feet childishly while whining, “I don’t know, I was just being myself!” and luckily, Wooseok dodges it in time.

“Watch out, you could kill me with a kick of yours,” Wooseok huffs, but decides to lay off when Yohan looks genuinely upset. 

Maybe annoying people could actually be serious about their crushes too.

“Either you reassess what you did wrong, or change yourself,” Wooseok crosses his arms. “It could just be your personality in general that he doesn’t like, you know.”

“Ouch,” Yohan clutches his chest dramatically when Wooseok lays out the cold, hard facts for him. “Are you this mean to your other customers as well?”

“Nope, just you,” Wooseok confesses. 

Yohan crosses his legs and hugs his jacket closer to himself for warmth when he finally sighs, “I just think that I really, really, like this guy. Before coming here, I wasn’t sure if I even stood a chance. I heard that you give great advice so maybe I was hoping that you could change that and convince me that something could happen between the both of us.”

_ Hope. _

Yohan just wants some hope.

Wooseok feels guilty for being so standoff-ish with Yohan earlier because of his personal feelings that he has somehow mixed into business. He was in Yohan’s shoes before, and he knows better than anyone how hopeless it feels like someone who seems to never look your way.

_ “I don’t think he knows I’m looking at him, watching out for him, whenever I can.” _

If Yohan meant what he said and means what he says now, then Wooseok should help him.

“I’m sorry, Yohan-ah,” Wooseok says. “I was in a bad mood and took it out on you. Can we start over? I’ll help you as much as I can. I promise.”

The way Yohan lights up should be enough for his crush to notice him - because damn does Kim Yohan have one of the brightest smiles Wooseok has ever come across.


	2. these haunted floors

Absolute madness.

There’s really no other way to describe what Wooseok has gotten himself (and Yohan) into. Honestly, he could blame Jinhyuk and Seungyoun for coming up with this idea in the first place, but he mostly blames himself for going along with it.

He’s perfectly aware that he’s been staring at Yohan for a time that is way too long to be considered normal, and curses himself for it.

“Is there a problem?” 

Yohan’s voice pierces through Wooseok’s mind like a sharp needle, and that’s his wake-up call. He shouldn’t be here doing this. Not with anyone - and definitely not with Kim Yohan.

But Yohan’s expectant gaze makes Wooseok think twice about doing what he’d normally do in uncomfortable situations like these: Get up and leave. It’s almost like Yohan’s hanging onto Wooseok just for a glimmer of hope - and think about it this way: would you have the heart to leave behind a kicked puppy that you found wandering alone on the streets?

The answer is one that Wooseok doesn’t really like.

“No, there’s no problem,” Wooseok takes a deep breath and mentally counts to ten.

So far, his love counselling business has a 99% success rate. There’s no reason at all why Yohan and his unnamed crush can’t be part of that percentage. Plus, Yohan’s popular and charming, according to what Wooseok hears in passing, so it shouldn’t be hard for him to get together with his mysterious crush - whoever it is.

“The first step of getting your crush to like you is getting them to notice you,” Wooseok relates to Yohan calmly. The other boy nods as if Wooseok is imparting wisdom to him when in reality Wooseok is just making things up as he goes.

“What do you think you could do to get him to look your way?” Wooseok tosses a question Yohan’s way, just because he doesn’t want to be doing the talking all the time. 

Yohan ponders over the question for a few seconds, before answering, “What do you think about buying him flowers? Everyone appreciates flowers, right?”

Wooseok wrinkles his nose in disapproval. For a 20-year-old boy, Yohan is painfully innocent, and his response leaves Wooseok wondering if Yohan was getting love advice from Netflix before he came along.

“If you’re still attending high school, maybe,” Wooseok shoots back mercilessly. 

The younger boy just pouts, defeated by Wooseok’s answer.

“Sorry,” Wooseok mumbles under his breath. He’s always had a sharp tongue, and he’s well aware of how people can get hurt because of him. “Here’s what I recommend: try observing the things he likes, his hobbies, the book he’s currently reading, what he laughs at. It’ll be easier to start a conversation after.”

“But don’t go on stalker mode, please,” Wooseok adds belatedly, afraid that he may receive a complaint if a certain gullible boy takes his words too seriously.

At long last, Yohan cracks a smile.

He looks especially like a child when he finally does, as if he doesn’t have a single worry in the entire world. It’s contagious, but Wooseok catches himself before his lips can curl upwards without him even knowing.

Yohan plays with his fingers for a while, then says, “I’ll try to do what you said. Thanks, hyung.”

Humming just to fill the empty silence, Wooseok’s eyes flicker towards the entrance, where he can see Seungyoun waiting for him. It’s obviously Cho Seungyoun because no one else could be this noisy and not get any dirty looks from other people.

Curse how likeable Seungyoun is. 

“Seungyoun’s here,” Wooseok says, thankful for the excuse his friend provides him with so that he can leave. “I know you don’t want to reveal your identity, so I won’t say a thing to him.”

Yohan looks hesitant for a moment, and glances between the cafe’s entrance and then back to Wooseok.

“I promise,” Wooseok assures him. “This is between me and you. No one else.”

“I know,” Yohan chews on his lower lip. “I trust you, hyung.”

Of all the parting words he could leave Wooseok with, Yohan chooses something as cryptic as  _ I trust you _ which immediately and effectively renders Wooseok speechless. While his brain is searching for something appropriate to reply with, Yohan gently pushes Wooseok in the direction of the entrance, as if to encourage him to leave _ . _

“See you around, Yohan-ah,” Wooseok blurts, then rushes out of the cafe and bumps straight into Seungyoun, who steadies him before he can face plant into the ground and embarrass himself in front of the entire population of students.

“Woah! Careful there, kitten. You could have ruined your pretty face, which is essentially the only thing you have that I don’t,” Seungyoun teases while holding Wooseok tight by his arm.

His friend quickly notices that he doesn’t snap back with a witty insult or roll his eyes on instinct, and switches to serious mode while peering into Wooseok’s eyes, “Hey, is everything okay with you?”

Forcing a smile that he knows Seungyoun immediately sees through, Wooseok says, “I’m fine. The cafe just felt a little stuffy and my head hurts, that’s all. Can we go eat something?”

Seungyoun doesn’t say anything about how red Wooseok’s face is, or how he stumbles over his words, and Wooseok is eternally grateful to him for that. He just nods, and fixes his eyes on the road ahead of them, “I know a good place.”

  
  
  
  
  


♡

“Seungyoun, do you think there’s a reason why I’m single?”

Wooseok puts down his burger that he can’t seem to stomach no matter how good it smells. He didn’t mean to blurt it out in the middle of dinner, and it seems Seungyoun didn’t expect it either, judging from the way he stops chewing on his sandwich.

Taking that as a cue to keep talking, Wooseok continues, “I mean, all my previous relationships have been miserable failures. Except for,  _ you know what _ . But here I am - giving relationship advice and charging people for it. I feel like a hypocrite.”

Putting down his half-eaten dinner, Seungyoun reaches over to rub his fingers over Wooseok’s hands comfortingly.

“I think I have to point out that none of those failed relationships were ever your fault - including, _ you know what. _ ”

Wooseok opens his mouth to protest but is immediately shushed by Seungyoun.

“You’re good at giving advice, and I’ll stand by that claim forever. And you know why you’re single? It’s because you never know how to pick the good ones, no, shut up and let me speak. You downplay your own worth when it comes to feelings and that’s why you end up with losers when you should really be with someone who will appreciate you.”

When Seungyoun finally finishes his speech, Wooseok is smiling.

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Seungyoun just shrugs and goes back to wolfing down his burger. In between mouthfuls, he adds, “I know you’re going to end up with someone who’s as much of an idiot as you are one day. Trust me on this.”

He then professionally dodges the fries Wooseok flings at his face.

  
  
  
  
  


♡

“I’m an idiot,” Yohan proclaims as he buries his face into the pillow once he opens the door to his dorm.

His roommate and friend, Hangyul, chuckles from behind him before saying, “I don’t know the context but I agree.” Yohan opens his mouth to protest then realises he’s the one who put himself down first and then promptly shuts it.

After a few seconds, Hangyul takes pity on him and hands him a can of orange juice from their fridge. He knows Yohan has a sweet tooth - but can’t drink anything too sugary because of his competitions.

Accepting it begrudgingly, Yohan just sighs, “Tell me I’m not an idiot, Gyul.”

Hangyul hums as he takes a seat on his bed, facing Yohan. 

“What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time, huh?”

Well. You see, Yohan is in a bit of a  _ pickle _ . 

As a result of recent events, his bank is now missing 30 dollars and all Yohan wants to do is bury himself in a hole and never come out. Hangyul wouldn’t understand, not when even after a week has passed since they last met, Yohan’s brain is filled with one person only.

“What wouldn’t I understand about that?”

“Was I thinking out loud again?” Yohan questions his friend, but his confused face is enough of an answer for Yohan to groan loudly in defeat again. “No, it’s nothing. I’ll forget about it.”

Hangyul shrugs, “Doesn’t seem like you will, seeing how you’ve become so uptight these few days. Who’s the unlucky one on your mind?”

Yohan’s eyes flicker with uncertainty as he surveys Hangyul’s face for any sign of recognition but internally breathes a sigh of relief when there’s none. Thank God, Hangyul would never guess who Yohan has this sick, little, puppy crush on.

Not that it’s important, anyway.

His fingers unconsciously grip his pillow harder when the realisation hits him.

“Nobody,” Yohan dodges the question very professionally. It seems Hangyul has long lost interest in his dilemma anyway (What a great friend). “I think I’m going to head down to the training centre. What are you doing tonight? Want to grab dinner together?”

“Why would I grab dinner with you?” Hangyul responds gruffly, then breaks into a smile when he sees Yohan’s very offended expression. “I’m kidding! I know you have no other friends other than me, Yohannie.”

Yohan mutters a low “dumbass” under his breath that he makes sure Hangyul hears before leaving.

  
  
  
  
  


♡

Later that night, Yohan comes to realise that while Hangyul might be one of the best and most caring friends he has, the boy is completely oblivious when it comes to reading the room. He wonders if Hangyul had ever fallen hard on his head when he was young.

Because it would explain a lot.

“You’re not talking much, Yohan-ah. Something wrong?”

The doe-like eyes that meet his own from across the table are filled with concern, but Yohan chooses not to acknowledge them and instead, steals some nuggets from Hangyul’s meal. The action is met with muffled protests immediately.

Curse Seungyoun and Hangyul for knowing each other from the dance club.

Curse them both for coming up with the idea that four of them should have dinner and drinks together when they had so coincidentally met in one of South Korea’s busiest districts.

Most of all, curse Kim Wooseok for looking so beautiful - so effortlessly.“

Ignore him. He’s been cranky ever since a few days ago,” Hangyul cuts in to explain on behalf of Yohan. “I think it has something to do with matters of the heart.”

It doesn’t help that Hangyul wriggles his eyebrows while saying that, while the smile spreading across Seungyoun’s face isn’t helping with the blush that spreads across his face to the tips of his ears either.

He shoves Hangyul hard, “It does not.”

Aware that he sounds like a child who was denied candy, Yohan sinks back into his chair and silently observes Wooseok’s expression while his friends continue to make him the butt of the joke. 

For the most part, Yohan learns that Wooseok doesn’t allow himself to react excessively to anything. Even when Seungyoun makes a hilarious joke, all Wooseok offers is a warm smile or a short chuckle.

It’s almost like the other boy has built walls of defence around him. Walls that seem almost invisible until you observe him closely - an unhealthy habit Yohan has unfortunately picked up along the way.

“Who is it, Yohan? You know you can always come to Wooseok for help,” Seungyoun says, wrapping an arm around Wooseok who just glares at him in response. 

While Hangyul looks at them with a blank expression, Wooseok finally looks at Yohan in the eyes again and replies, “Yeah. You can always come to me.”

_ I already am _ , Yohan wants to reply but he can’t because they’re not alone. And even if they were, he doesn’t know if he’ll ever have the courage to say anything to Wooseok about the feelings. 

The feelings being the butterflies that interrupt him when he tries to stand up confidently or the way he just can’t seem to string his words into a coherent sentence whenever Wooseok is involved.

“Alright,” Seungyoun takes the silence that follows as a cue to talk about something else, which Yohan is happy to oblige. For the entirety of the night, Yohan tries to relax, or attempts to laugh when they talk about something funny.

But his eyes keep on focusing on one person, and even when he convinces himself that it’s not worth it, and all he’s going to get out of this is another broken heart - he charges forward and hopes that at the very least, Wooseok lets him down easy.

  
  
  
  
  


♡

Seungyoun falls asleep in the small bar they had regrouped to after dinner, and Wooseok isn’t even surprised. His friend is in, like, five different student clubs at once, has a 3.8 gpa to upkeep, and still manages to have a social life on top of all that.

Oh yeah, he’s also a social drinker who never knows his limits.

Wooseok decides he’ll save the nagging for another day.

“I’ll call a cab,” Hangyul offers. Wooseok wants to protest because he’s broke, but it’s late and he has classes tomorrow in about five hours.

Seungyoun mumbles something in his drunken stupor and Wooseok knows he doesn’t want to be responsible for dealing with any of that right now.

“Yohannie, you coming?” Hangyul says after shoving Seungyoun into the backseat.

Wooseok had almost forgotten about the silent member of their group until Hangyul addressed him. He turns, only to see Yohan shaking his head and pointing toward the bus stop.

“You guys go ahead. I want to take a walk back.”

Wooseok sees Hangyul frowning, but even he knows better than to question Yohan. 

“Wooseok hyung?” Hangyul gestures towards the cab that is waiting at the side of the road. He looks back at Yohan, who is already walking away with his hands buried deep into his jeans pockets. Chewing on his lower lip, Wooseok wants to curse at himself for the choice he’s about to make.

He smiles at the nice boy who’s still waiting for him to get into the cab and says, “It’s alright, Hangyul. Make sure Seungyoun gets back safe for me, okay?”

Wooseok waits until the cab is out of sight before surveying the area for a sulky boy. From a distance away, he recognises the well-built athlete’s back that cannot be hidden behind his denim jacket.

It’s not winter yet, but it can get chilly at night. Wooseok hugs his jacket nearer to his body and jogs to catch up with-

“ _ Kim Yohan, _ ” he huffs when he finally manages to match Yohan’s footsteps. 

“Hyung?” Yohan blinks a few times, then looks behind Wooseok. “Why are you here?”

“Why am I here, indeed,” Wooseok mutters while rolling his eyes. “Because you’re tipsy and it’s late and you decided to play hero by walking back to the dorms alone?”

Yohan looks at him like he’s grown a pair of horns on his head.

“I’m not tipsy,” he rebuts.

“ _ Sure _ ,” Wooseok sighs. “And I’m not mad that because of you, I had to miss out on a perfectly comfortable ride back to the dorms. It’s dangerous to go back so late alone, so I’m coming with you. You owe me a big one, I’m telling you.”

It takes Yohan almost half a minute to register what Wooseok said, and when he does, he breaks out into one of his widest gummy smiles. 

“So you’re here protect me from the bad guys?”

Wooseok pretends that the warm feeling that rises in his chest is from the soju they downed together earlier.

“Don’t kid yourself.  _ You’re  _ a professional athlete and  _ I’m  _ the one that needs protecting.”

  
  
  
  
  


♡

It gets awkward on the bus ride back. To be honest, Wooseok had predicted this would happen ever since he stepped away from the cab and chose to accompany Yohan back to the dorms alone. 

Just the two of them. 

The situation seems awfully familiar and Wooseok has a sinking feeling knowing that none of these one on one confrontations between them have ever ended well. Perhaps the easiest explanation for why he never hangs out with Yohan alone is because he cannot figure Yohan out.

For example, he has no idea why Yohan would tell the driver that he would pay the bus fee “for both of us, please” when they board the bus. He also doesn’t know why Yohan would offer the only seat left in the weirdly crowded bus to Wooseok, while he himself chooses to hold onto the handrails.

Later, when most of the commuters clear out of the bus, Wooseok moves into the window seat and Yohan finally gets to sit down, though it doesn’t seem like he minds one bit.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Wooseok says, trying to find some words to fill the silence that revists them. 

“Do what?” Yohan looks at him questionably, with his head unconsciously tilted to one side.

Wooseok hates that expression. Yohan looks like an innocent puppy that doesn’t know what he’s done wrong; and Wooseok would be a horrible guy to point it out. He just sighs and looks out of the window to avoid eye contact.

“Paying my bus fees, and offering me empty seats,” Wooseok explains anyway.

“Oh,” Yohan shuffles in his seat uncomfortably. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way, I just thought I should do something for you, you know, since you are accompanying me home.”

“It was a kind gesture, but you don’t have to be that nice to me, you know?” Wooseok forces a smile. 

_ Because I might misunderstand your actions, _ Wooseok thinks but never says it out loud. Instead, he chooses to ask Yohan, “So, what’s on your mind? Hangyul said you were being pretty moody and it’s true. You’re usually not this…  _ down _ .”

Yohan lifts his head again to look at Wooseok, this time with a small smile on his face that tells Wooseok they’re fine again. Well, at least for now.

“Really? You think so? I haven’t really noticed, but it must be true, since two people have already pointed it out.”

“Yeah. You’re much more lively, and happy in general. I don’t know, that’s just what I know of you,” Wooseok blabbers, realising a little too late that he’s admitted to observing how Yohan acts around him. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like Yohan notices.

They sink into silence again, but this time, it’s a little bit different.

“Does it have something to do with your crush?”

Yohan seems surprised that Wooseok brooches the topic first, but quickly regains his composure and replies with a slight blush that tints his cheeks pink, “Well, I guess  _ that  _ is bothering me a little. But also competitions, and school, and life in general.”

Wooseok laughs, and it’s a genuine one because he relates to Yohan so much as a professional college student drowning in debt and stress.

“You’re going to be fine,” Wooseok assures Yohan as he leans back into the bus seat, feeling much more comfortable now than when they first boarded. It’s less awkward, and maybe Wooseok is getting accustomed to Yohan’s presence.

It’s not so bad, now that he thinks about it.

“You’re smart, and you’re obviously one of our school’s best taekwondo athletes,” Wooseok says. “And I’m not just saying it for the sake of cheering you up. Plus, I’m helping you out with that crush thing, aren’t I? You have all the bases covered just fine.”

Yohan hums, then says in a deeper, more serious voice than before, “Thanks, Wooseok hyung.”

“You’re welcome, I guess.”

  
  
  
  
  


♡

“Ugh, the hallways are so creepy at night,” Yohan shivers next to Wooseok. He laughs at the other boy’s brutal honesty but he’s not Kim Wooseok if he passes on the chance to tease anyone for having a fear of ghosts.

He leans in closer to Yohan and says, “You know, I’ve heard that ghosts roam these hallways at night because our school is built on top of a cemetery.”

He’s met with Yohan’s completely freaked out expression and can barely keep a straight face after that.

“Alright, goodnight Yohan-ah. My dorm’s on this side,” Wooseok says when they come to crossroads. 

“You can’t leave me like this,” Yohan protests, looking behind him as if someone is about to pounce on him anytime. Then, he pretends to stand up straight and puff out his chest in hopes of making himself look any less of a coward.

Wooseok isn’t buying his act, though.

“I’m walking that way too, let’s go together,” Yohan says, eyes shifting.

Stifling his laughter and the urge to film this down, Wooseok accepts Yohan’s suggestion. It would make sense to walk in the same direction since their dorms are located in the same building, as Wooseok has come to learn today.

“You’re not scared of ghosts, are you, hyung?” Yohan asks, trying to keep the conversation going in order not to focus on his fear. Wooseok bumps shoulders with him every few steps just to give the other boy some sort of comfort that he is still there - even though it just makes Yohan jump away everytime.

Wooseok shakes his head in disapproval, “There’s nothing to be afraid of. There are so many things to be afraid of in the world and you chose to fear something that isn’t real?”

Immediately, Yohan holds a finger to Wooseok’s lips to shush him.

“ _ Shh!  _ They can hear you!”

“You attract what you fear, Yohan-ah,” Wooseok rolls his eyes. “This is my door. Now, do you need me to walk you to your room or will you be fine going back alone like the grown man that you are?”

Yohan gulps as he contemplates his two choices. Wooseok can almost see the corks in his brain spinning fast as he struggles to make a decision.

“I’ll walk back alone,” Yohan sighs defeatedly. “Can’t risk you getting taken away by the scary ghosts.”

He’s funny. Slowly but surely, Wooseok doesn’t view the idea of hanging out with Yohan too badly anymore. Maybe he understands why almost everyone is drawn to Yohan. He’s endearing in the strangest of ways, and Wooseok is a little intrigued that someone like  _ Yohan  _ would be reduced to a quivering ball of nerves at the mention of ghosts.

“Where’s your dorm?” Wooseok asks.

“Just two floors above yours,” Yohan replies.

He watches as Wooseok takes out his keys and unlocks the door. Jinhyuk is home, he can tell by the way something clatters somewhere in the dorm. He sighs, then looks back at Yohan.

“Get back safe,” he says as a form of goodbye.

Smiling, Yohan replies, “Goodnight, Wooseok hyung. Oh, and thank you for coming back with me tonight.”

“Stop saying thank you,” Wooseok chides, a little frustrated because deep down, he realises that he wouldn’t have it any other way. He had fun tonight, even if it meant showing Yohan a little bit more of himself. "Take care of yourself on the way back.”

“Kay,” Yohan quips, his two front teeth showing when as he smiles and waves goodbye.

Wooseok can barely breathe when he shuts the door behind him.

“Who was that?”

He jumps at the unwelcome voice, which is  _ very ironic _ considering he had just made Yohan a fool for being afraid of ghosts. Jinhyuk just stares at him, unamused, with a cup of warm coffee in his hand.

“Just Yohan. We went out for drinks with Hangyul and Seungyoun,” Wooseok explains as vaguely as possible. “How’s your essay going?”

“Not great,” is all Jinhyuk says in response, and Wooseok can only give his friend a sympathy hug for working so hard the entire night while he was out having fun with his friends.

Jinhyuk yawns sleepily, prompting Wooseok to rub his back. Between yawns, he manages to ask, “Did you say Yohan was here? Doesn’t he stay at the other end of the college dorms?”

“No, he stays two floors up,” Wooseok corrects Jinhyuk,

Poor guy. Staying up late must be messing with his memory.

“ _ No _ ,” Jinhyuk argues. “He stays at the other end of school. It’s like, a fifteen minute walk from here. I remember because he used to complain that he had to walk a long way from his dorm just to come here for free food. Not that he minded after he tasted my cooking, anyway.”

Wooseok freezes.

“Ah shit,” Jinhyuk curses, eyes wide in surprise at the words that come flying out of his mouth instinctively. “I’m sorry. I know we’re not supposed to have anyone over except Seungyoun. Yohan only came over that one time, _ I swear _ .”

“Don’t lie to me,” Wooseok points an accusing finger at his friend.

“Okay, fine,” Jinhyuk relents. “He’s been here a couple of times when you-”

“ _ No- _ ” Wooseok cuts him off. “Not about that. Are you sure Yohan doesn’t live in our building?”

Jinhyuk shakes his head.

“Cross my heart. Come to think of it, isn’t that boy terrified of the dark? Wonder how he’s going to make it to his building at this time of the night - please tell me you didn’t tell him one of those horror stories you always make up,” Jinhyuk takes one look at Wooseok’s helpless face and facepalms himself.

“Why would he walk you back? You don’t even blink when we watch horror movies - and he’s the guy that screams if he so as much hears the door creak at night!”

“I know,” Wooseok hisses, feeling an unfamiliar feeling creep back into his chest. He gulps, and reaches for Jinhyuk’s coffee, adding under his breath, “Why exactly would he walk me back?”

  
  
  
  
  


♡

To put things simply, Yohan is a fool.

After being scared out of his wits while trying to make it back to his dorm alive a few days ago, Yohan finds himself forking out another thirty bucks just to meet with their school’s famous love counsellor for a measly hour of receiving love advice he doesn’t actually need. 

Somewhere along the way, Hangyul comes to know about Wooseok’s business, but he still doesn’t know that Yohan is one of Wooseok’s customers. Yohan has no idea how long more he’ll be able to keep this a secret from his best friend. 

Especially not when Hangyul keeps making bad jokes about Wooseok meeting the love of his life during one of his counselling sessions one day.

“Enough,” Yohan glares at Hangyul and then at their group of friends when they haven’t stopped giggling like high school girls for a good minute. “Wooseok hyung isn’t selling himself.”

“That’s not what we meant,” Hangyul looks surprised and taken aback at Yohan’s sudden outburst. “We were just marvelling over how someone like Wooseok hyung could still be single. I mean - have you seen him?”

_ Of course I have. More than you’ll ever know. _

Yohan can only look away and feign disinterest while his friends start to chatter loudly again. It all becomes white noise in a matter of seconds, and his eyes focus on a pair across the school’s cafeteria.

His heart twists in an ugly way when he spots Wooseok leaning on Jinhyuk’s shoulder while his friend is showing him something on his phone. It’s foolish of him, he doesn’t even have the right to feel jealous when he can’t even meet Wooseok’s eyes whenever they’re together.

“Kim Yohan,” Hangyul shoves him hard to shake him out of his daydream. “I said, are you interested in meeting this pretty girl from my department? I could set you up on a date this weekend with her.”

Yohan doesn’t even look at the picture Hangyul flashes to him. Instead, he presses his face onto the table and groans loudly, not even caring about the disapproving looks he gets casted.

“I’m assuming that’s a no,” Hangyul rubs Yohan’s shoulder encouragingly. “It’s okay buddy, I’ll cure you soon.”

Yohan almost laughs out loud.

If there was a cure for unrequited crushes, he would have already moved on a long time ago.

  
  
  
  
  


♡

“Did I kill your family or something?”

“Huh?”

Yohan wasn’t listening to what Wooseok was saying, but he most definitely heard the word “kill” and leans back in defence instantly. Don’t get him wrong: He might have a bigger build than Wooseok, but he’s heard enough horror stories from Seungyoun and Jinhyuk to think of Wooseok as a formidable force.

“You haven’t said a word since you came. All you keep doing is blinking and staring at my face like I did something wrong to you,” Wooseok puts his notes down, a sign of him giving up.

Yohan glances at the clock - it’s been twenty minutes since the beginning of their second session.

“So, any progress with your crush? What’s the status update?”

Forcing himself to focus on the conversation and not on someone’s face, Yohan replies, “Not really. Whenever I try to do nice things for him, he tells me not to do it instead.”

“Do you think that this a sign he’s not interested?”

Yohan can tell Wooseok is choosing his next words very carefully and somehow, that warms his heart, knowing how brutally honest the other boy had been in their previous session.

“I wouldn’t assume anything at this point of time,” Wooseok explains to Yohan, who breathes a sigh of relief. “Not many people are used to others doing nice things for them. It’s sad, but as humans, we are conditioned to second guess the good deeds people do for us.”

_ I guess that’s what’s happening to us, huh, _ Yohan muses.

But then, Wooseok presses his lips into a smile and adds, “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give up. I believe you can move people with sincerity and a kind heart. You’re going to be just fine.”

Wooseok closes his notebook.

“But that’s not what I want to talk about today.”

Yohan watches in amusement as Wooseok points at him.

“I want to work on  _ you _ .”

  
  
  
  
  


“You want me to hit on you?”

Yohan could not feel more scandalised right now. Wooseok just stares at him, a very unamused expression written all over his face. His palms are starting to sweat and he swears that Wooseok can hear his heart thumping thunderously against his chest.

The other boy folds his arms, “Yes. Approach me like you would approach your crush. You can’t play the kind boy forever. People like when you take initiative - and that’s exactly what I’m teaching you today.”

“Is there a problem, Yohan?”

Well. There are multiple problems, the biggest one being Yohan being asked by Wooseok to hit on him.

“I’m not going to flirt with you, hyung,” Yohan tries to appear stern in front of the unreasonable and sudden request, but his voice gives his lies away.

Rolling his eyes, Wooseok pats the seat next to him on the bench aggressively, “Come on. We don’t have a lot of time. Just… approach me. Be yourself, and I’ll try to help you along the way.”

Yohan scans the surroundings for an escape route but the secret spot they’ve found behind the school proves useless. Well, at least no one is going to see Yohan flop in front of Kim Wooseok.

He can’t believe he’s here. Role playing with Wooseok.

Who would’ve thought?

_ Here goes nothing, _ Yohan tells himself.

He takes a deep breath before walking towards Wooseok, who is pretending to be very interested in the literature book he has in his hands.

“Hey,” Yohan says in a deep voice about three octaves lower than his normal one.

_ Be cool, be calm, _ his brain is screaming.

You see, the thing about liking Kim Wooseok is that you always feel like you’re seeing him for the first time. You know he’s beautiful - you just forget  _ how much _ . It’s both a blessing and a curse for Yohan, who has to deal with Wooseok scrutinizing him with his big, brown eyes.

"Come on, you can do better than that, Kim Yohan," Wooseok says very sarcastically. "Don't tell me you don't know how to flirt."

Well, what can he say? Yohan could easily do this with anyone else, but with Wooseok, everything is too real. 

"Try again," Wooseok encourages nonetheless.

Yohan plucks up some courage again to say in his most natural voice, "Hi, hyung."

Wooseok plays the role of a clueless crush very well, especially when he replies, “Oh, hey, Yohan-ah. What’s up?”

_ The sky, not my grades, I don’t know, just say something instead of standing there gawking at him like a complete idiot! _

“Do you want to go out on a date with me?”

Maybe he should have gone with “the sky” instead.

Wooseok definitely looks surprised, but doesn’t break character even when he knows Yohan had blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. (Obviously, he is not someone who does well under pressure.)

“Oh,” a soft smile spreads across Wooseok’s face, but Yohan can’t tell if this is real Wooseok smiling or role play Wooseok. “I don’t know. Don’t you think we should get to know each other better first?”

He is so evil. Granted, he may be the scariest and prettiest person Yohan has ever come across in his entire life, but Yohan still isn't going to lose out to him on something as meaningless as role play flirting. It's pathetic to lose his composure over something like this.

Despite the self pep-talk, Yohan is positive he has cold sweat running down his neck, but quickly swallows his fear and stares at Wooseok in the eyes, “I want to get to know you better  _ on the date. _ Is that okay?”

With a scary amount of confidence, Yohan somehow manages to lean forward, so close until their noses are almost touching, and smiles before adding, “I’ll pick you up on Friday at 7pm, alright hyung?”

It's dead silent for a second too long, and Yohan prepares himself for the onslaught of criticism he's about to receive from his love advice giver.

But Wooseok just stares at him blankly with his lips parted, as if to say something - but no words come out.

“Y-yeah,” Wooseok finally manages to choke out, his face beet red. “That sounds fine.”

The book that is suddenly slammed shut marks the abrupt end of their role play, apparently, as the once chic and poker faced Wooseok haphazardly gathers his things while Yohan watches on, confused.

“You know what, I think you’re good with the introduction part.  _ Go with that-  _ or whatever you want. I just remembered I have to meet Seungyoun, he must be waiting for me. And I hate keeping people waiting. Let’s cut this meeting short, I’ll take half the class fee, Sorry, Yohan-ah!”

Yohan’s mind only really clears when Wooseok is a distance away and almost trips over his laces that have coincidentally come untied. Fortunately, he steadies himself and soon disappears around the corner like the mysterious love counsellor he is supposed to be.

And then Yohan realises something: maybe Hangyul was right - there might be a cure for him after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so sorry for this long overdue update. tbh, i wasn't expecting anyone to read this ahhh ;-;
> 
> thank you for all the kind comments on chapter 1, and please let me know what you think about chapter 2, and what you see happening in the future updates :D
> 
> ♡ yocat 4ever ♡


	3. it's a date

Wooseok is having the worst day of his life, and it's barely even three in the afternoon. He’d rolled out of bed late this morning (courtesy to that essay he has to finish by the end of this week), and was ridiculed for that by his professor in front of the entire lecture.

The paper he’d handed in about a week ago was also returned to him with a big C+ written in big, red ink on the front page - the exact one he had spent sleepless nights in the library working on.

And now, his roommate has the audacity to be his annoying self.

“Wooseok, you have to  _ at least _ clean up after you call for delivery. I can’t be walking around discarded bowls, it’s filthy.”

“I will, right after I’m done with this,” Wooseok mumbles half-heartedly in reply. He knows it ticks Jinhyuk off, but doesn’t his roommate have eyes to see that he’s stressing over the essay he has no idea how to finish?

“Do it now,” Jinhyuk’s voice tenses up, which Wooseok senses immediately. The thing about Jinhyuk is that 99% of the time, he’s a really well-tempered person. In fact, Wooseok has probably seen him lose his temper, like, twice in his life. He doesn’t know if that time where he insulted one of Jinhyuk’s favourite Disney movies counts.

“I said I would,” Wooseok snaps, slamming his pen down on the table, “Right after I finish this paragraph.”

“That’s what you say every time, and who ends up cleaning up after you?”

“The same person that won’t get off my back about a few dirty bowls when he doesn’t have eyes to see that I’m busy,” Wooseok huffs while shutting his laptop in anger. He doesn’t even spare Jinhyuk a glance when he gathers his bowls and dumps them into the bin.

Yeah, Wooseok can be quite the stubborn jerk when he means to be.

Deeming their mini disagreement as over for now, Wooseok glances at the clock and almost feels his heart stop beating. The hour hand nearing the number four stirs something in him and he suddenly remembers the appointment he had convinced himself he would be able to remember even without setting up a reminder.

There’s only two words popping up in Wooseok’s mind right now:

_ Yohan. Cafe. _

It has to be well over half an hour over their agreed meeting time they had arranged sometime last week. He doesn’t have Yohan’s number, so there’s absolutely no way to know if that boy is still waiting for him.

Frantically, Wooseok grabs everything he thinks he might need and prays his short term memory leaves nothing behind as he sprints for the door.

“Where the hell are you going? I thought you had that “important” essay to finish!” Jinhyuk yells out after him. Wooseok almost responds, but quickly reminds himself that he’s still quite mad at his friend (his pettiness is showing, he knows), and promptly ignores him. 

Whatever, he’ll worry about apologising later. Or not.

  
  
  
  
♡

Wooseok doesn’t know why, but he prays with all of his might that Yohan had given up on waiting for him and left. It would make him feel a whole lot less guilty for forgetting about their appointment. One that Yohan is forking out money for at that.

His hopes are immediately dashed when he catches sight of a tall figure waiting in the corner of the cafe, with two drinks sitting on the table in front of him.

“I am so sorry, Yohan-ah,” he still manages to say between bated breaths.

The prepared explanation Wooseok had tried to come up with while sprinting here is quickly thrown out the window once Yohan turns around at the sound of his heavy breathing. The other’s eyes grow wide in surprise as he scans Wooseok from head to toe. 

Wooseok gulps.

“Hyung, you’re sweating- did you  _ run  _ here?”

Not only does Yohan blatantly ignore the apology that rolls of Wooseok’s tongue (he’s stingy with his apologies, and he knows it’s one of his worst personality traits), but he also points out the exact thing Wooseok was hoping he wouldn’t notice.

Yohan is so nice, it physically  _ hurts  _ Wooseok to look at him.

“I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting, I’ve just had a-”

_ A really, really, bad day.  _

Yohan’s expectant expression causes Wooseok to shut his mouth. There’s no need for Yohan to know how Wooseok’s day went.  _ He’s not interested _ , Wooseok tells himself. 

“I’m sorry again, it slipped my mind,” Wooseok finally completes his sentence.

“It’s okay, hyung,” Yohan replies good-naturedly, then pulls Wooseok by the sleeve down to sit and hands him an iced latte, which has well, melted, and it’s really just room-temperature now. But the drink provides relief to his dry throat and Wooseok tries not to think about how the other boy is sitting so close to him that their thighs are practically smushed together.

Once he calms down, he opens his mouth to apologise again, but gets shushed instead.

“Hyung,” Yohan straight out  _ whines _ , “Please don’t say sorry to me anymore. I didn’t wait long, I was actually late from class myself. I literally just got here before you did.”

Wooseok squints suspiciously at the boy whose lips form into a natural pout. Not that he is taking any notice of Yohan’s little habits unconsciously.  _ He’s not. _

“Don’t try to make me feel better,” he threatens.

“It worked,” Yohan replies gleefully, his blatant lies falling into pieces in mere seconds. “You’re already back to your old self. I don’t like it when you’re all apologetic, feels kind of strange,” the boy bashfully admits.

Wooseok frowns and crosses his arms, “So you don’t like it when I’m trying to be a decent person?”

“Not what I meant,” Yohan quips, surprising Wooseok with how quick he is to dodge the targeted attack. Most people would turn into a blubbering mess at Wooseok’s bluntness. He doesn’t know if he’s happy that Yohan is not like most people. 

After a few more sips of his latte, Wooseok feels more at ease and suddenly realises that he’s still sitting unusually close to Yohan. It’s almost intimate - but Wooseok quickly pushes the thought away as he puts some distance between them.

“So,” Wooseok tries to start anew by clasping his hands together. “What’s the update? Any progress?”

When Yohan stares at him with a blank face, Wooseok sighs.

“Your crush,” he clarifies for the confused boy.

“Oh,  _ that _ ,” a look of familiarity rushes onto Yohan’s face as he blinks several times before saying, “It’s going great, hyung. Your advice is the best. You’re really good.”

He’s a horrible liar.

Wooseok doesn’t have the heart to call Yohan out on it.

“So you’re finally talking to him?” he questions, to which Yohan nods cautiously, as if afraid to reveal any information to Wooseok. Still, he doesn’t miss the smile that greets Yohan’s lips when he says, “Yeah, we’re talking. He’s really nice.”

Call Wooseok a hypocrite but true love or literally any form of love has been a myth to him. Sure, love exists - but not the kind that causes you to have butterflies in your stomach, nor the kind that storybooks lie to you about.

But the way Yohan smiles when he’s talking about this unnamed person has Wooseok second-guessing himself, like maybe, just maybe, there is a chance for people to find true love: the kind that has you smiling like a fool in a crowded cafe.

“I’m happy for you,” Wooseok says, and it comes from his heart.

“It kinda helped, you know, what you did with me the other time,” Yohan trails off hesitantly just as the memories from their previous meeting flood into Wooseok’s head.

_ “I want to get to know you better on the date. Is that okay?” _

_ “I’ll pick you up on Friday at 7pm, alright hyung?” _

Wooseok’s throat starts to dry up for no apparent reason again as he avoids Yohan’s gaze. 

It’s very un-Yohan like have said those things in front of Wooseok, which is probably why he had become the flustered one instead. On any normal day, Yohan is shy and cautious of Wooseok. Before, it was like someone had flipped a switch inside of Yohan and made him, well,  _ charming _ .

But that’s besides the point.

_ The point is _ , Wooseok tells himself, “So my advice is working for you?”

“I hardly think  _ you  _ gave any advice on how to flirt, thank you,” Yohan scoffs.

“What did you say?”

It’s safe to say that the glare™ doesn’t faze Yohan anymore. In fact, Wooseok thinks that he might need to up his intimidating game now that the other boy has gotten a little too comfortable around him.

“Hyung,” Yohan replies while batting his eyelashes. “You were the one who ran away from me, no?”

Wooseok’s ears burn at the mention of that.

“I did not,” he snaps even though he knows its true. “Seungyoun-”

He then quickly stops himself and huffs, “Why am I even trying to explain myself to you?”

Yohan laughs, “Alright, alright. I’ll drop the topic. It was you -  _ all you _ . At least, that’s what I’ll tell everyone. But you know the real story.”

“Shut up,” Wooseok mumbles under his breath but it's laced with no malice at all. In fact, he thinks he needed this. Even if talking to Yohan always makes his insides feel funny, it is uplifting to forget about his worries for a moment. All those dark thoughts about his bad grades, his homework, and even Jinhyuk, seem far away when he’s talking to Yohan.

Well, that’s as much as Wooseok thinks he knows.

His phone buzzes, and he signals to Yohan that he’s going to go to the toilet for a moment, to which the other boy quickly understands and nods.

It’s Seungyoun, Wooseok realises when he’s walking away from their table.

_ What happened to you and Jinhyuk? _ his friend asks. Wooseok sighs. Seungyoun must have gone over to his room and talked to Jinhyuk. Wooseok still isn’t in the mood to talk about it, so he just quickly types back a _ nothing, he was being annoying so I left. _

_ Where are you? I’ll come to you. _

As much as Wooseok appreciates Seungyoun’s care and concern, what he really doesn’t need right now is for someone to solve his problems for him. 

_ I’m out, don’t bother. _

_ Alone?  _ Wooseok can almost hear Seungyoun’s next message. He grimaces and lies through his teeth - or well, fingers - and says  _ yeah. _

When there’s radio silence from the other end, Wooseok slips back into his chair where Yohan has gotten another drink while he was gone. 

“Everything okay, hyung?”

“Huh?” Wooseok blinks, then realises Yohan is talking to him. He must have let his expression fall for a moment because of how he left things with Seungyoun. Feeling guilty that he blew his friend off over text, Wooseok lets out a deep sigh. “I’m just tired, I guess.”

“You can leave if you want, hyung. Take a rest at home,” Yohan says, quickly gathering Wooseok’s things for him. “I knew I shouldn’t have arranged to meet you on one of your busiest weeks, I’m sorry-”

“Yohan-ah,” Wooseok cuts him off. “I don’t want to go home. At least not right now.”

Yohan holds his stare for a few seconds, and Wooseok starts to fear that Yohan might question him about Jinhyuk or Seungyoun, both of whom he really doesn’t want to talk about right now. 

Finally, he nods.

“Okay, where do you want to go, then?”

Wooseok shrugs the question off, “I don’t know. I don’t really feel like doing anything.”

Except moping around.  _ Ugh _ . The icky feeling in his chest hasn’t left Wooseok ever since he got his barely passing grade this morning. It’s been downhill ever since then.

“Hm…” Yohan hums, and Wooseok just listens. 

It’s nice to have someone with you; not necessarily to talk, but just someone there for you. It’s peaceful, he thinks he could sit here for a few hours before going home.  _ If Yohan even wants to _ , Wooseok chides himself for even coming up with the idea to trap Yohan here with him for a reason he’s not willing to say.

“Hyung, how about I take you out?”

_ That  _ jolts Wooseok out of his daydream.

“What?”

“It’d be like a date.”

“ _ What? _ ” he repeats.

“I’m taking you out,” Yohan states, and suddenly it’s not a question for Wooseok to answer anymore. That fact dawns upon Yohan belatedly, who then tries to cover it up with an, “Okay, hyung?”

“What do you mean date?” Wooseok narrows his eyes at Yohan.

“You’re always out with Jinhyuk hyung or Seungyoun hyung. I mean, I guess you guys have your own type of fun, but I can show you a better time than they can,” Yohan grins. “C’mon, what do you think? We could hang out together, like a date!”

Oh. That kind of date. The friend-date.

Of course it wouldn’t mean any other kind of date.

Like the kind of date Yohan would do with his actual crush.

“Hyung?”

“Do I even have a choice?” Wooseok voices his concerns aloud as he scans Yohan top down. The other boy is practically bouncing with excitement even before Wooseok agrees. When he finally  _ does  _ nod his head, Yohan jumps up from his chair in glee and grabs Wooseok’s arm.

Even the customers from the other table turn to look at them with curious stares written all over their faces.

Wooseok eventually pulls himself away from Yohan’s grip, even if after a long time, he’s reminded of how nice it feels to have someone hold you close - so close till you’re scared they might actually hear your heart beating so fast like it’s about to jump out of your chest.

Even then.

He stops himself there, because  _ this  _ is not that kind of date.

  
  
  
  
♡

Having Wooseok agree to go on a date with him was kind of a long shot, and Yohan honestly cannot believe that it worked. His eyes shift nervously between the man walking beside him and the road in front of them. Unknowingly, he starts to consider the pros and cons.

_ Pros _ : They’re on a date. 

Well, Yohan played it off as a friend-date, but it still counts. And they’re alone. Don’t get him wrong, he loves Jinhyuk and Seungyoun to the death, but anyone who knows Wooseok knows that he only properly hangs out with those two.

_ Cons _ : His palms are sweaty and his stomach feels funny. And he has no idea what to say.

“Yohan-ah.”

He thanks the heavens for having Wooseok to speak up first. 

“Yeah?” he finally lifts his head to see that they’re in front of a harmless looking store at the corner of the street. It’s selling pork cutlets, and just by glancing at the pictures on the menu in front of the store, Yohan’s stomach grumbles as if on cue.

“I’m hungry, do you want to eat something? It’s okay if you don’t want to - I just wanted to eat something that would cheer me up,” Wooseok says hesitantly, as if afraid to ask anything more of Yohan. While Yohan is happy that Wooseok is finally not hiding the fact that he’s feeling bothered, he can’t help but wonder what set him in such a bad mood.

Yohan smiles, hoping it’ll help turn Wooseok’s frown upside down, “Sure, hyung. I’m hungry too, and this place looks good.”

He holds the door open for Wooseok to walk in, and gets a soft  _ thank you _ in return that melts his heart into this gross mess that he doesn’t even want to think about right now. While Wooseok finds his way naturally to a table located in a secluded corner, Yohan picks up drinks for them from the fridge.

A can of beer for himself. And for Wooseok -  _ peach juice. _

“Why didn’t you ask me if I wanted to a beer too? You can’t be drinking alone,” Wooseok narrows his eyes suspiciously at Yohan when he sets their drinks on the table. 

“Ah,” he grins. “You can’t drink, hyung. You have the alcohol tolerance of a child.”

The smile dies on his lips when Wooseok’s eyes grow wide in surprise at the exact time Yohan realises  _ he fucked up _ .

“How did you know that? We’ve never had a drink together before.”

“Uh…” Yohan racks his brain for a likely answer except the truth, and is promptly saved when the ahjumma brings over two menus to their table. Yohan quickly replies, “Oh, I heard from Jinhyuk hyung.”

Luckily, Wooseok’s focus is immediately shifted to the list of pork cutlets presented to him. 

“I’ll have the spiciness at level 10, please,” Wooseok smiles at the ahjumma, and Yohan chokes on his spit while staring at Wooseok’s insane order. Just to be clear, the restaurant recommends for their customers choose a spiciness level of 2 for a “slight kick”.

Yohan’s mouth goes dry as he is about to wimp out and go for the normal level.

But Wooseok is looking at him with those doe-eyed eyes of his and Yohan doesn’t want to seem like just a little boy to him. He wants to be seen as someone strong, someone brave enough to take up a challenge.

“I’ll have the same,” Yohan feigns confidence as he hands the menu back to the ahjumma then smiles at Wooseok, whose jaw promptly drops in shock. His accusing eyes shift between Yohan and the old lady, who seems dumbfounded by Yohan’s choice as well. 

“Are you sure about that, Yohan? Can you even take spicy food?”

Fairly so, Yohan thinks. Between him and Hangyul, he is the one who enjoys the Samyang noodles more without dying in the toilet after that. Then again, Hangyul has the spiciness tolerance level of a child even though he looks like the guy who could eat ghost peppers without breaking a sweat.

“I’ll be fine,” Yohan assures Wooseok. “You don’t have to worry about me, hyung.”

It’s really, really, stupid. But Yohan doesn’t think he’ll regret it.

Not even when the plates of pork cutlets are brought out with the devil’s curry poured over them. It’s supposed to look appetizing to Yohan, but all he feels is his throat going dry and his nose starting to itch once he takes a sniff of the dish.

“These are my favourite pork cutlets,” Wooseok says, cracking his first smile of the day when the dish is set in front of him. He looks like a baby who has just been handed a brand new toy. “I come here so often, the ahjumma likes to give me a discount.”

“No fair,” Yohan teases.

It really does seem like Wooseok loves these pork cutlets to no end, with the way he gobbles them up without question. He doesn’t even blink when he dips them into the curry.

“C’mon, you’ll love them, I promise. All the people I’ve brought here have,” Wooseok grins, encouraging Yohan to take his first bite.

Absentmindedly, Yohan bites into his first pork cutlet and tastes the oil exploding in his mouth. While he would love to enjoy how heavenly it tastes, all he’s thinking about are the other people that have come here with Wooseok.

As jealousy eats back at the back of his mind, Yohan tries to tune it out by focusing on the pork cutlets.

Only there’s something wrong with his mouth.

It’s on fire. And he doesn’t know how to stop it.

  
  
  
  
♡

_ “You don’t have to worry about me, hyung.” _

Wooseok can see the headlines now: Man dead after taking more spice than he can handle. Cause of death - stupidity.

Because it turns out that Wooseok does have something to worry about. Obviously, it should have been a tell-tale sign that no normal person (except Wooseok) would be able to handle a spice level of 10 on their first try. In fact, Wooseok takes pride in challenging himself.

He just didn’t expect Yohan to take on that challenge, too.

“Are you okay, Yohan-ah?”

_ Clearly not _ , Wooseok chides himself while Yohan reaches over to pour himself a fifth cup of water. He feels guilty when he looks down at his empty plate when Yohan’s is only half empty.

“Don’t finish it,” Wooseok grabs Yohan’s wrist - which is just about to scoop himself another spoon of rice and curry. “We’ll go get ice cream and then something else, okay?”   
  


“I’m fine, hyung,” Yohan insists.

Wooseok wills himself not to lose his temper with Yohan, who is acting like a stubborn child. 

“ _ Yohan- _ ”

“Did the others behave like this too?” Yohan asks between big gulps of water.

Wooseok glances at him, “What?”

“The others that came here with you. Did they try this too? And did they succeed?” Yohan further questions. Wooseok contemplates taking a picture of Yohan’s state right now so he can make fun of him later but decides that it would be too cruel.

“What are you talking about,” Wooseok snaps, irritated. “You mean the others I brought here? No, because no one’s ever been as stupid as you.”

Yohan finally looks at Wooseok, his eyes red from tearing up.

“Then it’s okay.”

  
  
  
  
♡

Wooseok thinks Yohan finally regains consciousness when they both get ice creams from the nearby convenience store. Yohan even sighs in relief as he lays the stick of vanilla ice cream on his tongue, too tired to even suck on it.

“Idiot,” Wooseok mumbles under his breath while watching Yohan.

It was beyond embarrassing for him to explain to the ahjumma why they had to leave in such a hurry without even finishing her food - but he thinks it might have been worse for Yohan to look like  _ this  _ in front of so many people.

“Not an idiot,” Yohan replies very maturely.

“ _ How could you-  _ do you not know your limits? You could have, I don’t know, died or something. And I wouldn’t know what to do with your dead body. I could have been made into a criminal! My favourite pork cutlet place could have been shut down!” Wooseok laments.

The cashier at the convenience store just stares at them weirdly, and looks oddly fascinated at Wooseok’s outburst.

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Yohan admits. “I guess I thought I was stronger than I actually am.”

In response, Wooseok just sighs and rubs his temples in frustration.

“You don’t have to prove anything to me, you know that, right?”

Wooseok knows, or maybe even understands, the immense pressure Yohan must be facing in his daily life. Even if he doesn’t know the boy that well, it’s obvious that he is his family and friend’s golden boy. Anyone who knows Kim Yohan’s name knows that he is good at everything.

Well,  _ almost  _ everything.

He shifts his weight from foot to foot awkwardly under Yohan’s intense stare when the words flow out from his mouth without a filter.

“I mean,” Wooseok tries his best to explain himself. “I know you want to seem strong in front of your family, your friends, and even your crush. But it’s just me. I’m not going to judge you because you’re not perfect. In fact, I’d much prefer if you weren’t.”

“Really?” Yohan cocks his head to the side in confusion.

The ice cream in his hands is long forgotten as an unfamiliar feeling sweeps through his chest when Wooseok realises the gravity of what he just said.

He gulps, hoping Yohan doesn’t notice his nervousness.

“Yeah,  _ really _ . I prefer hanging out with someone who isn’t putting up a front when I’m around,” Wooseok shrugs, trying to play it off. 

Finally, Yohan grins, his two front teeth sticking out.

But even that is endearing to Wooseok.

Fuck.

“Thank you, hyung. Guess the only person I can truly be my cowardly self around now is you. You just saw me at my worst and bought me an ice cream - how can I repay you?”

“By not trying to kill yourself the next time we hang out,” Wooseok huffs, blowing out his cheeks in an attempt to chase away the uncomfort Yohan’s smile brings to his stomach.

Yohan clinks his ice cream against Wooseok’s, “No promises.”

  
  
  
  
♡

“Are you fighting with Jinhyuk hyung? Or Seungyoun hyung?”

Wooseok tries not to grimace when both the names escape from Yohan’s mouth. 

“How’d you know?”

He doesn’t want to lie to Yohan, not when fighting with your best friends isn’t something to be embarrassed about. Also, he’s tired of pretending like it doesn’t bother him - because it does. And letting Yohan see that could bring him more help than harm.

Yohan hums while swinging up and down, his feet touching the ground every now and then.

“I can tell,” Yohan finally replies. “I knew you were in a bad mood, but I wasn’t sure why. Then you brought me to that pork cutlet place and now, to the playground near our dorms. These places remind you of them, don’t they?”

To be perfectly honest, Wooseok hasn’t even thought about the significance of dragging Yohan around to his favourite places today until now. 

But it makes sense.

The two places are where he’s made countless good memories with his friends, and now that they’re not talking, he thinks he needs a reminder of when they were.

“We’ll make up soon,” Wooseok says, professionally dodging Yohan’s question.

“I know,” Yohan says. “I don’t doubt that. They’re your best friends. You’re going to go home and talk to them later, right?”   
  


Wooseok smiles at the ground.

“Why? Are you afraid I’ll start bothering you more if I don’t?” he jokes.

Yohan’s expression quickly switches into one of shock as he immediately shakes his head and slows to a stop, “That’s not what I meant! It just feels weird that you are spending time with me instead of them.”

It’s funny to see Yohan so flustered. 

“I will talk to them,” Wooseok promises. “Thanks for hanging out with me today, Yohan-ah.”

“No, thanks for taking me around, hyung.”

They then slip into a comfortable silence Wooseok hasn’t experienced in a long time. For a while, Wooseok stares at the night sky (that is unfortunately not filled with stars due to pollution) while Yohan starts playing on the swings again.

It is then that Wooseok realises that the memories of his favourite place aren’t just shared with his two best friends anymore. It now includes Kim Yohan, who started crying because the curry at the pork cutlets place was too spicy for him.

Kim Yohan, who is cheerily humming his favourite tune to fill the silence at the playground.

Kim Yohan, who he let into these places so easily.

Kim Yohan, whose company he has started to enjoy.

  
  
  
  
♡

Wooseok tries to resist to the best of his ability when Yohan offers to walk him back,  _ again _ .

“Yohan-ah,  _ I know _ .”

Yohan stares back at Wooseok with those big, puppy eyes of his and Wooseok swears he would have given in if he didn’t know any better. 

Sighing as he tries to fish out the door keys from his pocket, Wooseok explains so he doesn’t prolong Yohan’s suffering any longer, “I know you don’t live in my building. You live at the other end.”

For a moment, Yohan seems shocked that Wooseok has somehow gotten hold of this new information that could potentially ruin the mood of the night. “Hyung- I didn’t mean to lie to you. I just, that night was-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Wooseok brushes it off. “Hey, and since I know, you don’t have to feel bad about not walking me back anymore.”

Yohan shifts awkwardly in his position as he watches Wooseok approach his front door. Wooseok wonders if Jinhyuk is still awake. He stayed out quite late, and Jinhyuk isn’t one to wait up. Still, there’s an uncomfortable feeling that has been settling at the pit of Wooseok’s stomach the entire day.

He needs to make up with his friend, or he may not be able to sleep tonight.

“I want to keep doing it though.”

Yohan’s confession comes as soft as a whisper. And Wooseok would have let it pass - just like a flowing wind - but he can’t. He can no longer ignore Yohan’s mummers, or pretend like he doesn’t see Yohan staring at him when he’s not looking.

Wooseok removes his hand from the door knob, then turns to face Yohan directly.

“Why?” Wooseok questions. “Why would you want to walk me back everytime we hang out, Yohan?”

Infuriatingly, Yohan’s lips remain sealed tight.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Wooseok further presses Yohan for an answer. “You’ve always acted… I don’t know, really weird, around me. I don’t want to assume anything so just tell me if I’ve ever done anything wrong to you that I don’t know about.”

After keeping his silence for almost ten seconds, Yohan takes a deep breath and finally says something. “You didn’t do anything wrong, hyung. It’s all my fault.”

Creasing his eyebrows in frustration, Wooseok can only take whatever Yohan says at face value. Clearly, there is something about him that bothers Yohan to no end but for some obscure reason, Yohan just won’t spit it out.

“Tell me, so I can understand,” Wooseok tries to plead with Yohan, but the boy shakes his head and turns away.

“You should go in, Wooseok hyung. It’s really late.”

Before Wooseok can continue pressuring Yohan to come clean with him, the door unlocks from the inside, visibly startling Yohan. Wooseok just sighs and rolls his eyes at the way the other boy quickly ducks away in fear.

Jinhyuk looks at Wooseok first, then narrows his eyes at the figure hiding behind Wooseok’s back.

“Oh, Yohan’s here too,” he says stiffly.

Wooseok doesn’t know if he should curse or thank Jinhyuk for interrupting a very important conversation between himself and Yohan. He doesn’t have time to decide before Seungyoun pokes his head out from behind Jinhyuk.

“You coming in?” he directs a question to Wooseok, who gulps. An angry Seungyoun isn’t something he planned to deal with tonight but it looks like he doesn’t have much of a choice right now.

Scratching the nape of his neck to ease the tension floating in the air, Wooseok tells his friends, “Yeah. I’ll just say goodbye to Yohan and head on it.”

The both of them give Wooseok curt nods and disappear back inside, leaving Wooseok to deal with Yohan, who obviously doesn’t know how to read the room because as his friends are leaving to give them both space, he still squeaks, “Goodnight, Jinhyuk and Seungyoun hyung.”

Wooseok almost karate chops his neck there and then.

Finally, when all is peaceful and quiet again, Wooseok turns back to Yohan, who again, won’t stop doing that weird staring thing.

“Look, whatever problem you have with me, I promise I will understand. Maybe you don’t want to tell me about it now and that’s okay. But please,  _ please  _ for the love of God, do not act weird and tiptoe your way around me, okay?”

Wooseok turns to go inside when he decides to add, “Not when I’ve just found myself another good friend.”

Without proper warning, a strong hand grips his wrist, preventing him from walking into his dorm. 

“I’m sorry, hyung,” Yohan says, a bashful smile forming on his lips. “I’ll sort  _ my thing _ out. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re not going to lose me, not after you almost killed me with those pork cutlets today.”

“That was all your doing, you punk-”

“Goodnight,” Yohan grins, and releases his grip around Wooseok’s tiny wrist and makes a swift exit before Wooseok can berate him with curses about how it was really Yohan’s fault that he almost died today.

Wooseok catches himself smiling as he watches Yohan sprint off, and consciously reminds himself that his friends are waiting inside. Once he makes sure that Yohan is gone, he gathers all his remaining courage and finally enters his dorm.

  
  
  
  
  


♡

“You know, I thought you said you were alone.”

If Seungyoun’s chilly tone isn’t enough of an indicator of how mad he is with Wooseok, maybe the way he hands Wooseok a glass of water is. 

“Yohan-” Wooseok begins to explain, then unconsciously looks over his shoulder as if expecting the other boy to appear any second. It’s the guilt eating him up from inside that’s making him like this. “I met him at the cafe. We hung out.”

_ We hung out _ is a very brief and shallow description of their day out today, but Wooseok isn’t about to go into details right now. 

Seungyoun just sighs and rubs his temples, “I called you, over and over, I was worried. I don’t care about what you two fought about, it just seemed pretty irresponsible to run off and ignore my texts about whether you were safe and okay.”

“You  _ know  _ I don’t take sides when it comes to arguments, Seok.”

Wooseok hasn’t touched his phone the entire day after leaving the cafe with Yohan in the afternoon, and now that Seungyoun mentions it, he’s reminded of the numerous times his phone buzzed in his back pocket throughout the day.

“I’m sorry,” Wooseok mumbles an apology when Seungyoun renders him without any excuses left to use. He looks at Jinhyuk, who hasn’t said anything since he came in, and adds, “I’m sorry too, for being such an asshole before.”

“I’m over it,” Jinhyuk confesses, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s  _ him  _ that got all worked up.”

Seungyoun looks absolutely comedic when the look of betrayal dawns upon his face as Jinhyuk sells him out, so much so that Wooseok bursts into laughter, breaking the invisible wall of ice between the three of them in the room.

“I’ll clean up after myself from now on,” Wooseok promises Jinhyuk, then turns to Seungyoun. Always the more protective one of his two best friends, Wooseok tries to ease Seungyoun’s anger by burying his head in his chest.

“I’m really sorry for making you worry,” Wooseok repeats. “C’mon, you know how much I loathe apologising and I’ve apologised to you twice in the last minute. Shouldn’t that say something about how sorry I am?”

At least that draws out a slight scoff from Seungyoun, who threads his fingers through Wooseok’s hair and finally says, “Fine. But at least tell me if you’re with Yohan the next time you fight with Jinhyuk, at least I wouldn’t have to spend all afternoon worrying about your whereabouts.”

“Won’t happen again,” Wooseok pinky promises Jinhyuk, who looks like he does not want to get into this mess at all. 

“Which part? The fighting part or being with Yohan part?”

Wooseok lifts his head from Seungyoun’s chest, only to be met with the other man’s cheeky smile, by which he gathers means that Seungyoun’s anger has successfully dissipated and he is now faced with his next greatest enemy: a teasing Seungyoun.

He rolls his eyes in an act to play it off.

“Why, jealous?” Wooseok taunts. “I can’t be friends with your friends?”

“No, no,” Seungyoun exchanges suspicious glances with Jinhyuk, who chimes in with, “Just seems weird that you would even want to have a conversation with Yohan, is all.”

Now they’re both ganging up on him. Great. Wooseok should have played up the pity party part a lot more previously.

“Why is that weird?”

“Because…” Seungyoun stares at him with that “duh” expression on his face. “Don’t you not like Yohan?”

“I’ve never ever said that in my life,” Wooseok swears.

“Sure,” Jinhyuk adds. “But you’re always like, _ oh- Yohan’s coming, I gotta run _ . Or,  _ Yohan’s coming to our dorm? I suddenly have an imaginary friend I forgot to meet.  _ I gotta say, I was convinced I finally found the one person in this school that didn’t have a thing for the hot taekwondo player that resembles a mix of a bunny and a puppy. Seems like I was wrong.”

“What-” Wooseok sputters at the implication of Jinhyuk’s words. “I do not have a thing for Yohan!”

Seungyoun looks like he is enjoying the show from the couch.

“Sure you do,  _ kitten _ . I’d know better than anyone else,” Seungyoun grins as he places his hand across his chest.

Now, Wooseok is considering walking out and ignoring the both of them for good this time.

“ _ Once _ ,” he stresses as he holds up an accusing finger directed at Jinhyuk. “We’ve hung out once. Only because my full-time best friends were being complete dickheads.”

“Alright, alright,” Jinhyuk laughs. “You don’t have a thing for Yohan, I was just joking. C’mere, let’s make up.”

Wooseok doesn’t even have the energy left to resist the hug that is coming. Only when his face is squished against Jinhyuk’s, the other says, “The way you got worked up when I mentioned Yohan’s name is  _ very interesting _ , though.”

This time, he doesn’t even feel bad for elbowing his friend in the stomach. Hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for taking so long to update!! real life has been hard but if you're still here, reading, thank u and pls take all my love <3
> 
> thank u for all the lovely on the previous chapters, they honestly keep me going and make me really happy.

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading!! let me know if you liked it and if you have a favourite part in this first chapter! 
> 
> ♡ yocat 4ever ♡


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